The financial crisis has prompted a boom in one type of job: fraud investigators. Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that the number of open mortgage-fraud investigations was more than 1,600 at the end of fiscal 2008, which ended Sept. 30, compared with 881 two years earlier, reports the New York Times. In addition, 530 corporate-fraud investigations were open, it said.
The bureau is recruiting people to help with these investigations, including those with experience in computer science and accounting. People who speak a foreign language and those who are certified fraud examiners also have an advantage. Outside the government, fraud investigators work for security consulting firms like Kroll; at accounting firms like Deloitte Touche and Eisner; and at global business consulting and internal audit firms like Protiviti. The number of certified examiners is up 10 percent compared with last year, with a median compensation for full-time certified fraud examiners at about $90,000 a year.